Amplifier Mistake (Blackstar)

thomasross20

Don't worry, I've not discounted it lol!! Oh and good point about the cab, obviously no good if you want to run the ID60 speaker and another one, d'oh!

Yeah, big price tag for those Victory amps.

Still need to see about getting some specially made leads that I can use to run my boost/delay pedals in the FX loop (defo want to do this).

RaymondLin

The Victoria amp's value will drop like a stone, my advice is don't get one, you'll find it hard to shift it too if you decide to.  A Mesa is much easier to sell on the other hand !

thomasross20

That's a really good point - great quality but niche / not well known - and considering how much I'm changing my mind on this....

Man, I just want to get back to the playing!

hubobulous

Get yourself to a shop and try them out. Only then will you know if the Blackstar, Suhr, Mesa, Victory etc sounds the way you need and has the weight consideration taken into account. There's a hell of a lot of good advice on here, some based on live playing, some not so much. But you've got to try some out now I think.

Take your pedals, compare the amps next to each other and hear for yourself.

thomasross20

Yeah I plan on going through to guitarguitar Edinburgh/Glasgow and Reddog etc... 

Shame I wasn't 100% about Orange tone (thought it was a tad hissy) as I think the amps look the business.

thomasross20

Just checked and the Montage 1x12 with Celestion speaker in total is about 14kg? 

I see the Orange PPC112 Cabinet gets good reviews too (more expensive, though looks the biz!) and is also about 15kg. 

Is closed/open back better and why?

The Blackstar HT112 is ~11kg and the HTV112 (celestions) 18kg. Ouch on the 18kg - same weight as the ID60 combo!

I think I'm pretty much going to get the ID60 head unless I drastically change my mind. As for cabs (I know ICBM is big on the Montage lol). It seems Celestions are generally regarded as the best speakers? 

Or if this sale falls through I might keep the 260 combo, but let's see what happens there (other than my back breaking). 

When you see a 2x12 cab that says 8 ohms, is that per loudspeaker or both in parallel giving 8 ohms (I assume this one)?

ICBM

Closed or open back aren't better or worse, just different. Closed is chunkier and more resonant, generally better for heavier rock sounds, open is looser and better for cleaner and lower-gain blues/country/etc sounds.

The advantage of the Montage (and some others) is that you can use it as either by fitting or removing the middle back panel - although it's not something you would want to swap on a daily basis, it's four screws and a very tight fit.

(Edit: typo which changed the sense of what I was trying to say completely!)

thomasross20

Thanks, ICBM - you truly are a fountain of gear knowledge!

Yep, Montage fits the 60 head nicely. 

HT112 is too small to fit the 60 head. 

HTV112 (celestion speaker) is a good fit but weighs 18kg. Why so heavy when similar cabs weigh 14kg - the materials, as you mentioned?

No way I'm lugging an 18kg cab - almost as bad as the 24kg combo!

Wish I could just go pedals straight into a single channel amp but the fact that the Blackstar has in-built FX and channels really makes it a great backup. But having the Blackstar footswitch AND my pedalboard - what a pain!

OK, enough on this topic for now...! 

thomasross20

Argh no, just found out that if you set up the Blackstar to utilise the FX loop and then put nothing in the FX loop, you get no sound out of the amp (and remember you can only configure these things in software, so can't disable it mid-gig)!! What a major PITA

So if I'm practising at home I'd have to use my pedal board (never do that). And if my pedal-board died mid gig I'd have to have something in the FX loop to keep the amp alive. 

This might turn things on their head a bit.... unless you can simply connect a lead between the FX loop in and out - would that work?? If so, no problem!! I'll try it myself when I get the chance. (On a side note, I youtube'd Suhr Badger amps - wow!!)

RaymondLin

Just carry any kind of analogue pedal with a 9V battery inside and plug it in ?

not_the_dj

Surely a patch lead in the loop would work.

thomasross20

I'm hoping shorting those two ports would work. Might try it later on and hope nothing blows up

I keep looking at this Mark v:25 demo - small, light and amazing. But expensive and complicated. 

Voxman

thomasross20 said:

Argh no, just found out that if you set up the Blackstar to utilise the FX loop and then put nothing in the FX loop, you get no sound out of the amp (and remember you can only configure these things in software, so can't disable it mid-gig)!! What a major PITA

So if I'm practising at home I'd have to use my pedal board (never do that). And if my pedal-board died mid gig I'd have to have something in the FX loop to keep the amp alive. 

This might turn things on their head a bit.... unless you can simply connect a lead between the FX loop in and out - would that work?? If so, no problem!! I'll try it myself when I get the chance. (On a side note, I youtube'd Suhr Badger amps - wow!!)

I've had a look on the Blackstar forum but there's nothing I've been able to find that suggests that's the case and my understanding was that the FX loop functioned normally - I've therefore posted to seek clarification but just wondered who told you that?  If it's correct then that is a PITA, although a jump lead should work & solve it.

ThePrettyDamned

If you are a pedals-for-tones into clean (or clean ish?) amp, then I think there is a definite niche in the market for this.

Just a simple, relatively small solid state head. You'd think it would exist!

One that may work is the amt stonehead - it has 4 channels and looks complicated but it could just be a warm, clean sounding platform.

However, they're not cheap - not pricey, but not cheap.

I wonder if it is possible to get something like a peavey bandit into a smaller head format.

Or even a simplified blackstar ID in a small head. Big money maker to be had, imo. I might actually write and suggest it.

How does that id amp take your pedals, especially distortion? Some digital kit hates it, but now you've gigged you'll know for sure

ICBM

thomasross20 said:

Argh no, just found out that if you set up the Blackstar to utilise the FX loop and then put nothing in the FX loop, you get no sound out of the amp (and remember you can only configure these things in software, so can't disable it mid-gig)!! What a major PITA

So if I'm practising at home I'd have to use my pedal board (never do that). And if my pedal-board died mid gig I'd have to have something in the FX loop to keep the amp alive. 

This might turn things on their head a bit.... unless you can simply connect a lead between the FX loop in and out - would that work?? If so, no problem!!

I'm surprised if it does that, but if it does then a simple patch lead in the loop will sort it. You sometimes have to do this with other amps if the switch in the FX loop jack fails - the most common cause of problems on old Peaveys! (Mainly because nothing else ever breaks on them.)

thomasross20

To be honest the gig in guitar guitar told me about the fx loop issue but I've yet to try it...

I think the amp takes pedals well but I haven't played masses of valve amps to compare with

ThePrettyDamned

thomasross20;455186" said:

To be honest the gig in guitar guitar told me about the fx loop issue but I've yet to try it...

I think the amp takes pedals well but I haven't played masses of valve amps to compare with

You'd know if it took pedals badly. Put a distortion into a fender mustang amp, for example, and it's a horrible, grating noise.

I just saw your video on the other thread - and the amp sounds really great! Blackstar really nailed it with these, just a shame the heads are bigger than they need to be.

thomasross20

That was the Riot Reloaded through the clean channel - great pedal. Next time will use the Blackstar distortion only. 

Looking through all available amps on guitarguitar, the Blackstars do shine through - great price, sound great, although heavy for me, light in comparison to others... Hell, I'm still in two minds as to whether or not to sell! 

ThePrettyDamned

thomasross20;455303" said:

That was the Riot Reloaded through the clean channel - great pedal. Next time will use the Blackstar distortion only. Looking through all available amps on guitarguitar, the Blackstars do shine through - great price, sound great, although heavy for me, light in comparison to others... Hell, I'm still in two minds as to whether or not to sell! 

It sounded really cool. Interesting, as I wasn't all that keen on the riot I tried! But that's a good sign, if it works as a basic clean amp (with a variety of clean voices, too) it's justified cost already.

Voxman

Where's the thread with the vid @thomasross20?